What's a phrase or saying you've used or heard that surprised you when you learned what it really meant or how it originated?

#1

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”- to mean “be grateful for what you are given/gifted, apparently comes from the old days when people wanted to know if a horse was healthy, they would check it’s teeth (ie “look in its mouth”) So basically- if you’re given a free horse, don’t check to see if it’s a GOOD horse, just be grateful you got a free horse!

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Sylvia Weiss
Community Member
2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dem geschenkten Gaul schaut man nicht in´s Maul. I guess this idiom was created in Middleage? When you see the teeth of a horse, you have an impression how old the horse is. How worn/used the teeth are. And in that time, even an very old horse was of high value, cause you could slaughter it. So, in any case - you where happy, when you where gifted. Please excuse my bad english...

Nice Beast Ludo
Community Member
2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ahhhh... I thought it was some kind of curse if you looked at its mouth. Now I see the stupidity in that idea.

Kat097
Community Member
2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I learned this phrase early from my parents but now days most people do not seem to know what I am saying...

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    #2

    When addressing corruption in an organization (police, church, etc.) you often hear them say that it was only one or two bad people, and not systemic, by saying "It was only a few bad apples". Except, the whole phrase "A few bad apples spoils the bunch" is a warning about systemic corruption.

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    Vix Spiderthrust
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've always heard "a few bad apples spoil the barrel" but yes, this is what it means. Corruption anywhere leads to corruption everywhere.

    Dane Smith
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've always heard "a few bad apples spoil the bushel" I wonder how many forms of this there are.

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    Xenon
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Origen: If you have one apple in a bushel get bruised and starts to go bad, it will literally cause the rest of the apples with it to go bad.

    byeon dovei
    Community Member
    2 years ago

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    I can hear the comments slamming religion already.

    Eric Tapril
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Funny that you thought that when everyone else is thinking of the police.

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    #3

    Begs the question... There is a common use today that is quite different than the original use from formal logic

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    Sara Wilson
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Isn't the point of this post to explain the origin? Seems a pointless post on here without it

    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My point, dear Sara, was to see what other Pandas thought about this phrase. I'm happy to see that both conflicting uses of this phrase have been pointed out in the comments.

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    Vix Spiderthrust
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes. To "beg the question" actually means to plead the question, i.e. to make a circular argument. An example would be "How do you this man's testimony is the truth?" "Because he swore on oath when he made his testimony."

    Mimi M
    Community Member
    2 years ago

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    To beg the question means that something clearly brings up an obvious question. E.g., 'Seeing the seashell fossils on the mountaintop begged the question - how did they get there?'

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    Mimi M
    Community Member
    2 years ago

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    To beg the question means that something clearly brings up an obvious question. E.g., 'Seeing the seashell fossils on the mountaintop begged the question - how did they get there?'

    #4

    Saying "My/your name is mud" meaning to be disgraced by your actions is a reference to Dr. Samuel Mudd who treated John Wilkes Booth for his injuries after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln. As a consequence his career and life were effectively ruined as he was convicted of being a co-conspirator and sent to prison.

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    Vix Spiderthrust
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nope, just a coincidence. The phrase is older than that. https://grammarist.com/idiom/ones-name-is-mud/

    Kat097
    Community Member
    2 years ago

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    I agree the comment older than mud... is common to me to be used as ""really really old"

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    Sans Serif (Sans)
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Kat097 was referring to a different phrase "older than mud/dirt/the hills which is correct. It's inclusion on this list is highly appropriate. Certainly not deserving of down votes and I've up voted to offset.

    Mycroft1967
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Picket Fence comes from General George Pickett who lead the last charge at Gettysburg. Sideburns come from General Burnside, confederate general.

    Sara Wilson
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He was eventually cleared, but his reputation was already too ruined

    #5

    Clue From the ball of yarn or "clew" that Theseus unraveled behind him in the labyrinth of the Minotaur

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    Mimi M
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My new experimental rock band is going to be called 'Labyrinth of the Minotaur'. The first album is going to be titled 'Journey of Theseus', first track, 'The Clew'. We will have epic tours with all sorts of lighting and effects. And yes, a Moog will make its appearance.

    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is awesome!!! I LOVE this. I will have to look you up. Ever perform in northern Wisconsin US. 😝

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    #6

    "panem et circenses" (by Juvenal) which is very fitting for the Internet, as well as many other aspects of our "entertaining" society (thankfully not all of it!).

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    Sans Serif (Sans)
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Bread and circuses : sustenance and entertainment provided by government to appease public discontent". Très improbable! /s

    Vix Spiderthrust
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And from one end of the cultural reference scale to the other - this quote is, of course, the reason why the dystopian society in The Hunger Games is called Panem.

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    #7

    Butt load equaling a lot. Origen of the phrase is: A regional English measure of capacity of a heavy cart (a butt), containing 6 seams, or 48 bushels, equivalent to 384 gallons.

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    #8

    Not really a phrase, but a kids' song- Ring Around the Rosie is about the Bubonic Plague

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    Vix Spiderthrust
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Apparently this is a myth - the rhyme isn't nearly old enough https://www.thoughtco.com/debunking-ring-a-ring-a-roses-1221610

    Huddo's sister
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Apparently the blame for the misconception lies with James Leasor who wrote The plague and fire in 1961. (Science is golden, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki)

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    Beatrix Bennet
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I broke my sisters leg playing that game, and then she used her cast as a club

    Jon Lee
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I read a book in the 80s, Who Really Killed C**k Robin? by Norman Iles, which showed that the plague explanation is a myth as this was originally a ring dance with many different versions. The modern version was published in Victorian times and thus became the accepted version.

    Echo
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yup. "Ring around the Rosy" references the burning of bodies during the Bubonic plague, and the "pockets full of posies" were flowers that were stuffed into clothing to help with the stench of the corpses. "Ashes ashes we all fall down" References dying and bonfires :3

    Kat097
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    now I have to look this up.. have heard it was about the plague but after reading other comments .. I will have to see for my self LOL

    Rob(erta) Roy
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's what I was gonna say 😅

    #9

    "Blind drunk" homemade alcohol may contain methyl alcohol can damage the optic nerves

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    Vix Spiderthrust
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nope. Just means too drunk to see straight. https://slate.com/technology/2012/12/blindness-treated-with-whiskey-can-you-really-lose-your-sight-from-drinking.html

    Sans Serif (Sans)
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Although, drinking "methyl alcohol" WILL have that same (and likely permanent) result...

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    #10

    "Câline de bine!" is basically French for "goshdarnit". The origin is railroad workers, French and English working together, a rough translation of the English guys yelling "Coal in the bin!"

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    #11

    "As the crow flies" . "Dead to rights" - still searching for meaning of this one. Thought it was related to sailing but not so. Anyone?

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    Miss C
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    https://grammarist.com/idiom/dead-to-rights/ Means being caught red handed

    Vix Spiderthrust
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's an absolutely bog-standard use of the word "dead" to mean "completely", as in "dead reckoning", "dead ringer", "dead wrong" and so forth. And "as the crow flies" is just because crows fly in straight lines. https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ast1.htm

    Spittnimage
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As the crow flies - to take the most direct route (googled it). Dead to rights - caught in the act of a crime, caught red-handed (googled).

    StitchIsCuteAndFluffy
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If someone could inform me why Kat097 was downvoted here, even if their explanation was wrong, I would greatly appreciate it. They guessed, that’s all. Their comment wasn’t mean or rude. Downvote goblins really need to leave people alone

    Kat097
    Community Member
    2 years ago

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    as crow flies meaning to me is a suggestion to take the overland route not the road trip as the road trip is longer.

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    #12

    Bye, Felicia. (I thought it was just something my mom said. I was wrong.)

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    Sara Wilson
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And another post without sharing the origin! Is this a difficult concept? :D

    ArodTheHorrible
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It is from the movie "Friday". It means to dismiss an annoying person or subject

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    Kat097
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    HUH ???????????? is Felicia your nick name?